White House Will Focus on Climate Shifts While Trying to Cut Greenhouse Gases

The White House is expected to take new steps on Friday to help society adapt to global warming, an acknowledgment that worldwide efforts to control emissions will be inadequate to head off big climatic shifts.

White House aides said President Obama would sign an executive order on Friday morning directing federal agencies to make it easier for states and communities to build resilience against storms, droughts and other weather extremes. For instance, when federal money is being spent on projects like roads, bridges, flood control and many others, the plan would encourage greater attention to the likely climate conditions of the future, which might require making the structures stronger or larger.

“All of that is now going to be shaped by the awareness of climate change, and the things that can be done to make those investments produce a much more resilient society,” said John P. Holdren, the president’s science adviser.

In addition, the White House will set up a high-level task force of state and local leaders to offer advice to the federal government. At least six governors — all Democrats — have agreed to serve, along with mayors and other local leaders representing both political parties. The plan also calls for better coordination among federal agencies.

The White House emphasized that the president remains committed to his goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the United States by 17 percent by 2020, compared with the level of 2005. At Mr. Obama’s direction, the Environmental Protection Agency is working on rules that could impose sharp limits on coal-fired power plants. And the administration has adopted policies requiring that by 2025, cars and light trucks sold in the United States get an average of 54.5 miles to the gallon.

But the new push involves a recognition that at the global scale, emissions of heat-trapping gases are still rising, and most scientific experts believe it will be difficult to head off substantial alterations in the climate. They also believe that some of the weather extremes of recent years, such as intense heat waves and heavy downpours, are a foretaste of the kind of changes that will intensify in the future.

The task force of governors and mayors will be asked to identify hurdles in federal policy that are blocking local communities from making smarter decisions. For instance, after flooding from Hurricane Irene destroyed hundreds of road culverts in Vermont, numerous towns there decided to build tougher ones, but were initially stymied by a federal reluctance to pay for such upgrades.

“We really do need to hear directly from the communities and from those who are sort of on the front lines of dealing with the impacts of climate change,” said Nancy Sutley, head of a White House environmental council.

To some extent, the new plan reflects the partisan battle lines over climate change. While most Democratic officeholders accept the scientific case that society is running substantial risks, many Republicans in recent years have questioned the evidence. In the face of congressional recalcitrance, Mr. Obama has said he will use his administrative powers to take the strongest actions he can on climate change.

After the White House issued a broad call for volunteers, Democratic governors from California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland and Vermont agreed to serve on the new task force, but as of Thursday evening, no Republican governor had done so. The 13 mayors who have agreed to serve include three Republicans, from towns in Colorado, Indiana and Kansas.

Some communities trying to incorporate climate change into their planning have long complained that they have trouble getting authoritative data and predictions from the federal government. Dr. Holdren said the administration’s plan would include a web portal to make such information more accessible.

A version of this article appears in print on , Section A, Page 18 of the New York edition with the headline: White House Will Focus on Climate Shifts While Trying to Cut Greenhouse Gases. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe